Selected 22nd overall in June as part of the Nets’ historic rookie haul, North Carolina’s Drake Powell has flown under the radar. The 20-year-old’s first look in black and white was delayed. He’s yet to suit up after sitting out Summer League with what the team called a minor left knee tendinopathy.

At Media Day, general manager Sean Marks said Powell had not yet been cleared for 5-on-5 and would continue ramping up through training camp, with hopes of playing in the preseason. Powell later told reporters his knee “felt good” and expressed confidence in the return-to-play plan set by Brooklyn’s medical staff.

Just days before the Nets’ preseason opener against Hapoel Jerusalem, head coach Jordi Fernández said Powell had finally progressed to the contact portion of practice. His status for Saturday’s matchup at Barclays Center remains uncertain, but the rookie guard appears close to a return.

“He’s been doing a great job. His body looks good,” Fernández said. “Getting ready to better ramp up and just being cautious. He’s done a really good job. He’s an elite athlete, we believe the best athlete in the draft so it’s exciting to watch him take those steps and he is putting the work in, for sure.”

Among Brooklyn’s 2025 rookies, Powell is the wild card — a boom-or-bust prospect whose defensive ceiling jumps off the page. While Egor Demin, Nolan Traoré, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf impressed scouts with skill and playmaking, Powell distinguished himself as the superior athlete, owning a physical edge the others couldn’t match.

Powell posted an NBA Combine-best 43-inch vertical, among the highest ever, underscoring why he was once projected as a lottery pick in early mock drafts. At 6-5 with a 7-foot wingspan, he placed in the top 10 in shuttle, sprint and agility drills, and he became only the fourth UNC freshman to win Defensive Player of the Year, joining Raymond Felton, Marcus Paige and Day’Ron Sharpe.

With Powell’s NBA education delayed, it remains unclear how his athleticism and defensive prowess will translate, and questions linger about whether his offensive ceiling can match his impact on the other end. Now on the verge of full health, he’s close to embracing everything Fernández and his staff are trying to instill and giving fans their first real glimpse of the kind of player he can be.

“Yeah, it’s been great,” Powell said. “You know, just being able to be a student of the game, still trying to learn different concepts to this new system that I’m in. But now being in it, I think that’s helped me 100%. It’s not saying that I learned everything, there’s still some things to learn, as it’s different being on the sidelines and now being on the court, but I’m just still taking it day by day. And most importantly, you know, I have trust in myself.”

Even as he works back to full strength, Powell is embracing the mental side of the game, studying concepts and figuring out how his skill set fits into Fernández’s system.

“I feel like I have a pretty good understanding. I’d say so,” Powell said. “Just, given my time that I spent in North Carolina, you know, mid-range shots, they were, like, limited. He still wants us to take them, but you know, obviously not at a high clip, still want to get layups and threes, as many as you can. But yeah, as I get into the flow and start to understand the offensive system, I’ll start to have a better gauge about that.”